In recent months, state mental health care systems have faced damaging budget cuts. These cuts threaten the ability of community and state Medicaid and other public services to meet the needs of the hundreds of thousands of adults and children who utilize them. Realizing the severity of this crisis, NAMI's top advocacy priority of 2010 is to protect and strengthen state and local public mental health services. More...

As NAMI moves forward to becoming a diverse organization at all levels, we can take advantage of existing resources and celebrations to help us successfully engage diverse communities. One of these celebrations takes place the entire month of July, which the House of Representatives proclaimed as Bebe Moore Campbell National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month in 2008.

The Multicultural Action Center is already gearing up for National Minority Mental Health Awareness Month 2010 and has made resources available to support awareness and outreach efforts across the country. More...

NAMI Continues to Share the Hope of Recovery with African-American Faith Community.

With NAMI’s Sharing Hope: Understanding Mental Health program, predominately African-American congregations around the country are becoming more comfortable talking about mental illness and identifying ways to be supportive of people who live with mental illness. A second round of grant support to NAMI chartered State Organizations and Affiliates for further roll-out of this initiative will take place this spring. As one Sharing Hope presenter in St. Paul, Minn. expressed, “We’re perking up our ears, tuning up our hearts so that we can listen and help one another.” More...

Members of the recently formed NAMI Diversity and Inclusion Work Group gathered for their first in-person working meeting on Feb. 5, 2010, at the NAMI Leadership Conference held in Baltimore. The day-long meeting proved that the group is comprised of strong expertise and unique perspectives that can benefit the organization as a whole to advance in the area of diversity and inclusion efforts. More...

We are proud to share that Nicholas Love, member of the NAMI LGBT Leaders Group and NAMI Diversity and Inclusion Work Group, was selected by the Arizona Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee and the Phoenix Human Relations Commission to receive the city’s Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Living the Dream award. The award was presented to six individuals in recognition of their work’s dedication to justice and human rights, an exemplary of Dr. King’s own demonstrated ideals.

NAMI Hearts & Minds

The more you know, the more you can increase your odds of living a long and full life. This is the premise of NAMI’s new health education program, Hearts & Minds.

Taking aim at risk factors like high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking and obesity for major illnesses such as heart disease, cancer and diabetes, Hearts & Minds promotes sound mind and body health practices among individuals who live with serious mental illness. The "Hearts & Minds Facilitator’s Guide," which comes with the Hearts & Minds DVD, helps leaders run the program. The "Hearts & Minds: A Road Map to Wellness for Individuals Living with Mental Illness" booklet is chock-full of information to help lead a healthy, longer life. Both publications are available in the NAMI store.

Coming Soon—New Issue of ¡Avanzamos!

A new issue of NAMI’s popular, fully bilingual publication ¡Avanzamos! will be out soon. This new issue features articles contributed by Dr. Sergio Aguilar-Gaxiola and other expert researchers and faculty of the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, U.C. Davis School of Medicine as well as personal stories on the experience of immigration and finding mental health supports. This is our best looking issue yet! This publication is not only a great tool for outreach to Latinos and Spanish speakers, but also an interesting and uplifting read for all.

Click here to subscribe to this publication in electronic format via e-mail, receive the print version via standard mail and access previous issues of ¡Avanzamos! in the online archive.

University of Miami Resources Relate to Earthquake Victims in Haiti

The Department of Educational and Psychological Studies at the University of Miami School of Education has compiled a list of resources to provide information on coping with disasters and trauma, many of which highlight the particular strengths of Haitians in the face of disaster.

The SPRC has provided these Web pages as a resource for people working to prevent suicide and promote wellness in Native communities, offering links to pages on community readiness, best practices and local efforts, resources on digital storytelling and language archiving and more.